BOUNCEinc Homebush — Attraction in Sydney

My experience at Bounce Homebush was nothing short of traumatic. While the staff who weren’t in management were kind and supportive, management was unprofessional and abusive. I was placed on part-time hours but only received 8 hours a week unless I picked up other shifts, leaving me severely underpaid. The job was physically demanding with no adequate food or time to get food from our own “cafe”, and I was regularly yelled at over walkie-talkies to jump and run for hours straight. Despite having a great rapport with the kids, who would run to me every week, management failed to recognize my strengths. I was singled out by a manager, Matilda, who would target me with passive-aggressive comments and unfairly reprimand me. She even messaged me personally on Facebook to antagonize me. Other members of staff noticed her unfairness towards me and would ask me if I was okay and if she really just said that. I requested more reception shifts, as I was fully trained, but management denied me. The conditions took a toll on my health—I developed hives, lost significant amounts of weight leaving me to feel faint, and was sick almost every two weeks, which bounce did not care about (specifically Matilda). The staff room smelled like garbage, and there were frequent bin leaks. Even when I returned from a pre-booked overseas trip which they approved (as it was booked before I started the job), I was forced to work an 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. shift the next day, despite being jetlagged and exhausted, and so I had to get a sick note (But dont worry they made sure to belittle me first). Bounce Homebush shows a complete disregard for workers' rights. Many staff members are on visas and unaware of their rights, allowing the company to exploit them. I was never supported, and management ignored my mental health struggles. They claim to “spread the love,” but I experienced nothing but mistreatment. Bounce is operating unethically, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. I was also completing a school based apprenticeship, and bounce would refuse to let me work on the days I needed off to complete this, yet would not shift me on the days I was available, and would deny my requests to not work these days, diminishing and affecting my education and growth in the industry I wanted to pursue. My mental health was at an all time low due to this management and left me to feel worthless. Matilda should be fired for bullying in the workplace. The only good manages are Jackson, Dan, and the one with rainbow hair. (however they were barely shifted) I sensed a fair amount of jealousy from Matilda, and don’t think someone so insecure and jealous should be in a management role. Her jealousy that would turn into hate, anger, and passive agreessive behaviour made me so depressed I had to see a therapist. I am now working with my therapist to get over the trauma bounce has endured on me, and thanks to my new job I am a lot happier as I am somewhere that recognises my strengths and wants me to learn, grow and be apart of their team. I was so excited to get the job at bounce however after the issues with pay, exploitation of workers, managers telling me old men were looking st me making me extremely uncomfortable in my workplace, and the mental and physically trauma i had to endure, I would never reccomend this job to anyone. There is a reason most workers only last 3 months. I should’ve listened to the workers who told me this when I started and quit straight away. I ALSO HAVE NOT BEEN PAID MY SUPER EVEN THOUGH I QUIT 2 MONTHS AGO!!!! Trying to email accounts team since the managers aren’t helpful. They don’t take care of their staff so why would they take care of your children? There is also a good chance my hives could’ve been from their uncleanliness of the venue. If it wasn’t from depression and anxiety’s like...

Dear Bounce Homebush Management,

I am writing to express my deep disappointment with the service we received during my son’s recent birthday party at your venue. We chose Bounce Homebush with the expectation that it would provide a fun and memorable experience for our child and guests. Unfortunately, several issues arose during the event that left us feeling frustrated and dissatisfied.

Lack of Proper Cutlery: To our surprise, no cutlery was provided for the food we ordered. The party host instructed us to use tissues for eating pizza and other items. This is simply unacceptable, especially at a party where we paid for the food service. Expecting guests to eat pizza with a tissue is not only inconvenient but also unhygienic. It’s baffling that something as basic as paper plates, which are not costly, were not provided.

Wasting of Food: We were extremely disappointed to see that the food, including a full bowl of wedges, was thrown away without any consultation. We were not given the option to take the leftover food with us. This disregard for the food we paid for is both wasteful and inconsiderate.

Premature Clearing of Plates: Some children were still eating and had their plates full when the staff started clearing them away and throwing them in the bin. This not only interrupted their meals but also left some of the kids hungry. It felt rushed and disrespectful to our guests.

Rude Behavior with the Cake Service: When we requested to share the second tier of the birthday cake with the parents, the party host threw the plates onto the table. This behavior was extremely rude and unprofessional, which dampened the celebration. We expected a level of courtesy and care, especially when dealing with something as significant as the birthday cake.

Lack of Complimentary Drinks and Birthday Socks: No complimentary drinks were offered during the party, which was unexpected. Additionally, the unique Bounce socks that are typically provided to the birthday child were not given, which was disappointing. These are small gestures that make a big difference, and their absence was felt.

Overall, the experience fell far below our expectations, and we left the party feeling let down. We chose Bounce Homebush with the belief that we would receive a premium service for the price we paid, but instead, we encountered a series of issues that made the event less enjoyable for everyone involved.

I hope you take this feedback seriously and address these issues to prevent other families from having a similarly disappointing experience. We would appreciate your response and any steps you plan to take to rectify these concerns.

Thank you for your attention to this...

I was early for a kids’ birthday party, and stayed another 2 hours afterwards, so managed to observe quite a bit. In short, the concept is excellent, but very poorly executed. I came with a 2- and 6-year old. There was no clear instruction for where to go for the party: evidently, you need to wait for the host on the ground floor party check-in area, except when we got there, there was no host so we walked aimlessly around the venue not realising we had to have a wrist-band, wear the Bounce socks, and get inducted so that the kids understand the rules (eg. One person per trampoline) etc. Despite the website saying the venue is suitable for toddlers, it isn’t. If a venue is going to invite toddlers into its venue, it needs to assume that the toddler is going to roam around, and unless the individual play areas are locked off or actively policed, the whole venue needs to be suitable for toddlers. You can’t rationalise with a 2-year old and expect them to stay in the Soft Play Area; they won’t – back to this later. Visitors also can’t bring their own food. I understand why, but as far as I could tell there was nothing really suitable for small children (correct me if I’m wrong!) The menu is not available on the website. A lift is available for people with prams, there’s just not much space for prams in the café area. 2-year old got sent home after 30 minutes (again, can’t rationalise with a hungry 2-year old). After the party, my 6-year old used the big/long trampolines. Despite there being a minimum height limit of 110cm in that area, I saw numerous small children enter that area, unsupervised or with siblings only slightly older, run out onto the trampoline with no warning and only narrowly miss a much older kid doing intense jumps or back-flips etc. Also note to parents: this is not just a kids venue, adults can use the equipment too, so rogue toddler may collide with 80-kilo adult. At one stage, I saw about 5 kids jumping on a single trampoline. I asked the attendant “isn’t it one person per trampoline?” She said “yes,” but did nothing about it! The management of the different areas was shambolic. In trying to cater for party groups moving through, they asked the non-party attendees to move from certain areas. Likewise, the big/long trampoline area got cleared out/closed off, seemingly because there were too many people. Why allow so many people in, in the first place? In summary: this place is hard work, too noisy, too crowded, won’t be...